Jan 25, 2014

The Story of A Small Town in Taiwan

On New Year Day 2014 morning, I walked down a small town in Taiwan and posted a blog here .

The row of market shophouses located at YilanCountylocated in northernTaiwan. There were few people and vehicles in the street when I roamed the place to soak in the cold morning air.

At 7.30 am on 1 January, 2014 (New Year Day) at Yilan, Taiwan, the sky was quite dark (Photo above).

The row of market/shophouses along the street was busy with shoppers to buy fresh fishes and seafood, vegetables and fruits and other ingredients and groceries to cook at home. It was like a "drive-in market" for customers on motor-cycles.

I understand that these wooden shophouses, non-airconditioned, poorly lighted without decorations for business as markets. In the early days, Yilan was a small town with a small population.

As the town grew bigger, a supermarket was built at the back of the row of market/shophouses.

However, the supermarket did not drive away the business of the traditional markets. The regular customers have their own choice and preference for their businesses to survive in co-existence in the small town. The closer human customers-stallholders relationship of a community and neighborhood built up over decades.

Somehow I still prefer the old-fashioned, wet-market like Singapore. The friendly, humble village folks there could notice that I am a foreigner, not a local in Taiwan. I was a guest to a small town in Taiwan.

Or maybe because they like bald guys and often smile at me with greetings. I love the small town in Taiwan. Please watch the 小城故事 by Teresa Teng in 1980. The lyrics in Chinese and English, and her popular song of another version on YouTube available here
.